


Hands in the Dirt

by FaramirsBlessing



Category: Raven Cycle - Maggie Stiefvater
Genre: Adam is a Doctor, Congenital heart conditions, Gansey is rich as ever, Happy Ending, He wears leather shoes to the community pool, Hurt/Comfort, I am unable to write straights, I'm a nursing student and incapable of writing healthy people, I'm weak for family AUs, Latin, M/M, Minor Richard Gansey III/Blue Sargent, OCs are bi and lesbian, Opal is Medically Frail, Ronan Swears, Ronan and Adam are good dads, Ronan is a Farmer, Summer Camp, Vague mention of adoption, family au, human opal
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-08-26
Updated: 2018-09-10
Packaged: 2019-07-02 17:46:10
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 10,260
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15801507
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/FaramirsBlessing/pseuds/FaramirsBlessing
Summary: Opal Parrish-Lynch is hurt at camp and her fathers are called. Things don't go particularly well when they find out she was hurt by a counselor.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Hiya! This is my first work for this fandom but I'm literally so in love with this series and this ship and have loved it for a long time. I had this idea while working with kids at a camp over summer (although none of the counselors hurt the kids) and thought Opal would be such a cutie at a summer camp. 
> 
> Opal is human and adopted in this story and around six years old. She speaks scraps of other languages, and Latin, for unknown reasons. Ronan is a farmer and Adam is a doctor because Adam would be a great doctor and I have a bunch of headcanons about that that I won't go into. 
> 
> Anyway, enjoy!
> 
> Also, I am straight up unable to write straight people so my OCs are queer. XD Like, what are heterosexuals. . .

It started with dirt, as most things do with Opal Parrish-Lynch.

“Opal!!” Ms. Haley shrieked from one end of the creek. “Don’t eat that!” She stomped over to the little girl, who was dressed in a flowery pink shirt and blue overalls, and knelt next to her. “If I see you even _try_ to put that in your mouth again, you’ll have to sit out for the rest of the activity. Got it?”

Opal stuck out her bottom lip, clearly pouting, but she nodded nonetheless.

“Good,” Ms. Haley said, and she got to her feet, wiping the wet dirt from her knees. As she did so, she counted the children herded around the creek, twenty in total, all wearing nametags shaped like strawberries. The front had their names — weird millenial names like Brynlee and Zayden and Opal — and the back had the name of the camp they were at: _South Davis Youth Summer Camp._

South Davis was a small-ish recreation center just outside of Henrietta, Virginia, that offered a number of activities for people of all ages — there was a swimming pool, a gym, racquetball courts, a playground, and a creek that ran through the large park, where the campers were currently “panning for gold” or whatever it was they were doing.

Honestly, it was just an excuse to get them outside. These twenty kids, ranging from five to ten years old, could really get on Haley Smith’s nerves after six hours inside. They were so _loud._

As if to exaggerate her point, Zayden started screaming as Brynlee held up a small crawdad she pulled from the creek and shoved in his face.

“Look, Zayden!!” she cried, grinning excitedly. “Isn’t it cool?”

Zayden, who had the tendency to be overdramatic about everything, immediately began to sob.

Haley sighed and began to head towards the pair to break them up when another camp counselor intervened, ending the chaos as quickly as it had begun. 

Haley sighed heavily in relief. 

“Thank god,” she muttered.

“You should watch your language around the kids,” a teasing voice behind her said and Haley turned in surprise to see Garrett, one of her co-workers, approaching with a water bottle. She cracked a smile at him.

“Shut up,” she said, nudging him when he was close enough and taking the water bottle from him. “It’s not like they listen to me anyway.”

“Are you sure about that?” Garrett asked. There was a laugh in his voice. “Hi there, Opal.”

Haley jumped and barely kept herself from swearing _very_ loudly. Somehow, little Opal Parrish-Lynch had all but appeared at her side, and was blinking her huge honey-brown eyes up at her. She held a huge lump of Virginia dirt in her small hands.

 _Oh my god,_ Haley thought, and behind her Garrett snorted with laughter.

But Haley forced a smile across her face anyway.

“Opal, sweetie, why did you bring that to me?”

“Kerah,” Opal answered simply, as if that were enough.

“Okay, well you can’t bring that inside,” Haley said. “It’s very nice and I’m sure your daddies would love your. . . dirt. . . but that’s too much. We’re looking for gold, remember?”

Opal frowned and cocked her head, as if not comprehending. She looked down at her dirt, back up at Ms. Haley, then down at her dirt again. Haley sighed. Sometimes it was so _hard_ dealing with Opal. The first time she had met her she had nearly fainted, she was so cute, but she was soon to be disenchanted. Opal had a terrible tendency to put _everything_ in her mouth, even things that were not edible, and so had quickly become a watch for choking. Haley couldn’t even begin to imagine what her frightening father, Mr. Lynch — the one with the shaved head and leather jacket and sharp smile — would do to her if his daughter choked at day camp. 

Opal had a lot of trouble communicating with them, as well. Dr. Parrish (who Haley thought was to-die-for-handsome — tall and strong with gentle curls and a soft, quiet smile) had explained that Opal’s first language wasn’t English so sometimes she might have difficulty speaking. 

_“Please be patient with her,” he had said with a smile and how was Haley supposed to say no to that face, honestly?_

But little Opal Parrish-Lynch wasn’t just hard to communicate with — she was stubborn as a bull. Haley got the feeling that she understood more than she let on and sometimes just pretended not to in order to get what she wanted. And she _was_ weird. She spoke in odd scraps of languages that Haley had never heard before and even when she had memorized one and put it in Google translate, she (and the internet) still couldn’t figure it out. Plus, Opal and Mr. Lynch seemed to speak in Latin phrases once and a while? They were an odd family, and Opal was an odd child. 

Then there was the dirt.

Oh god, the dirt.

Whenever the camp went outside, Opal seemed to make a mess somehow. A hole here, a mountain of sticks and mud there. It never ended. There was always an Opal mess and all the time outs in the world didn’t seem to get through to her. Even talking to her parents hadn’t worked; Mr. Lynch had just seemed amused and Dr. Parrish had ruffled her short honey-blonde hair with fond exasperation.

Haley figured it was because they didn’t have to deal with this all day, every day. They didn’t see her make messes and cause chaos. They didn’t see her eat dirt.

Wait. Eat dirt?

Haley came back to her thoughts just as Opal brought another handful of dirt to her mouth.

“Opal!” she yelled and she grabbed the girl’s wrist without thinking, yanking it away from her face. Opal let out a wordless cry of alarm and confusion, all the dirt falling from her fingers. Haley grabbed her other wrist, heedless of how frail the girl was, how her eyes had gone wide and terrified, how tightly her nails dug into Opal’s pale skin. 

“Opal!! What did I tell you about eating dirt?!?” Haley yelled. She shook her. “I told you not to, didn’t I?!” When Opal said nothing, she shook her again, harder. “Answer me, Opal!”

“O-O—” Opal stammered helplessly, horrified.

“ _Opal!”_

Tears sprung to the girl’s big brown eyes and she twisted her face up. Haley watched in dull horror as tears began to flow over her soft, round cheeks.

“ _Mea culpa!!_ ” she all but shrieked and Haley dropped her wrists as if she had been burned. Was that Latin? Again?? “I sorry!!! _Mea culpa_ , Ms. Haley!!”

She backed away from Haley, sobbing, clutching her right wrist with her small left hand. For the first time, Haley noticed that Opal’s wrists were already bright red and sporting small bloody moons from her sharp, manicured nails. Her heart twisted in fear and regret.

“Opal—” she began, reaching out for the small girl, but she was shoved back before she could so much as touch her. Haley looked up, shocked, to see Garrett standing between her and Opal, his dark eyes sparking, arm swung protectively around Opal’s shoulders.

“Don’t touch her, Haley,” he hissed. His eyes dared her to move, and when she didn’t, he turned to Opal, his eyes soft and voice gentle and reassuring. “Let’s go inside, honey. Do you want me to call your daddies?”

Opal nodded furiously, tears coming faster, lip wobbling dangerously. Garrett reached for her hand but Opal shook her head, instead holding up her arms and whining. Technically the counselors weren’t supposed to carry the children, but Garrett saw this as an exception. After all, Opal had just been injured by a counselor — even though Haley hadn’t meant to — and it was obvious the tiny girl needed comfort.

So Garrett easily scooped Opal into his arms, where she instantly wrapped her legs around his waist, her arms looped around his neck, and buried her face in his shirt. It was immediately wet with her snot and tears, but Garrett didn’t care — how could he? He patted Opal’s back softly, ignored Haley’s soft cry of apology, and began to walk back to the recreation center.

******************************

Garrett knew that Ronan Lynch was a force to be reckoned with — a dark storm looming over the horizon, always ready to rain hell on whoever so much as messed with anyone he cared about, but he had never seen Dr. Parrish so angry before.

He strode into the recreation center doors next to Ronan, still dressed in dark blue scrubs and a white lab coat, in stark juxtaposition to his husband — clad all in black — face set like stone, blue eyes sparking, posture so tense it was almost rigid. When he saw Opal seated at a table in the lobby, playing silently with her stuffed raven, he relaxed only marginally.

“Opal!” he cried, and ran to her, white hospital shoes squeaking on the tile floor.

“Daddy!”

Opal clambered out of her chair, ratty toy raven still in hand, and met Adam halfway, arms outstretched. Garrett knew the moment Dr. Parrish caught sight of Opal’s wrists — he went white to the lips and something flashed across his face — anger, distress, remembrance, sorrow — before settling on reassurance. He fell to his knees and enveloped Opal in his arms.

“Oh, Opal, darlin’,” he said, Henrietta accent thick. “Oh, my baby.”

Opal, who had stopped crying a bit ago, immediately began to sob again.

“Daddy!” she wailed. “D-Daddy!”

Ronan, who had followed closely behind Adam, took a look at Opal’s wrists — encircled with finger-shaped bruises and crescent-cuts — before turning fiery, furious eyes on Garrett.

“Did you do this?” he demanded, voice like ice. It was a disturbing juxtaposition to fire in his eyes; a tone that indicated whoever was responsible was someone far beyond Ronan’s rage and wrath, they deserved his hatred and contempt.

Garrett barely compressed a shiver.

“No, I didn’t,” he said. “I came to stay with Opal though, to make sure she was safe.”

“Thank you,” Dr. Parrish said, arms still wrapped tightly around Opal. He raised a hand and ran long fingers through her hair. “Are you okay, Opal?”

“Yeah,” Opal said, nodding against Adam’s chest. “ _Mea culpa_.”

Both Adam and Ronan stiffened.

“Your fault?” Ronan asked, voice tight and strained. “Did someone tell you this was your fault?”

Opal shook her head, but repeated the Latin phrase anyway. Adam hugged her tighter.

“It’s not your fault, Opal, I promise,” he said soothingly. “It’s not your fault.”

Ronan watched them for a second more before turning to Garrett.

“Where’s your boss?” he said. “I wanna talk to her.”

“Of course,” Garrett said, bouncing to his feet. He pulled the camp-issued cell phone from his pocket. “I’ll call her right now.”

It turned out that Garrett’s boss, Brenda, was making her way to the recreation center currently as she had heard about the incident with Opal through other counselors. She seemed annoyed over the phone that Garrett hadn’t called her immediately, but both Mr. Lynch and Dr. Parrish seemed slightly reassured when they spoke to her briefly on the phone.

By the time they hung up, Opal had calmed significantly; she was now straddled on Dr. Parrish’s hip, chewing on the wing of her toy raven, her head resting on her father’s shoulder, her eyes red-rimmed and swollen with tears.

Garrett motioned to the table in front of him.

“Why don’t you all take a seat?” he said. “I’m sorry I didn’t offer earlier.”

Ronan chuckled hollowly.

“You’re just like Parrish,” he said, throwing himself bonelessly into the plastic chair. “All Southern manners.” 

Dr. Parrish smiled faintly and sat down as well, moving Opal to his lap. As soon as they were sitting, she clambered off him, crawled across the table and tossed herself onto Mr. Lynch, tiny hand latching onto the collar of his leather jacket. Ronan sighed and patted her back lightly, glancing only briefly at her wrists. His eyes sparked and he had to take a deep breath to control himself. He nestled his nose into her hair and kissed the side of her head softly.

“Hey, kiddo,” he said softly. “How you doing?”

Opal only shrugged and Ronan sighed, tugging her closer. He exchanged a knowing look with Adam. Getting over this was going to be a struggle and they both knew it.

There was silence for a few minutes, the only sounds the general hustle and bustle of the recreation center until Garrett awkwardly cleared his throat. Both Ronan and Adam turned to him, eyebrows raised expectantly, and the young man fidgeted. Ronan wanted to laugh: he was as awkward as Gansey could be at times.

“Opal is really sweet at camp,” Garrett finally said, managing to find his voice. “She’s such a pleasure to have around.”

Mr. Lynch snorted.

“Obviously,” he said, bouncing said girl on his knee. “She’s the best girl in the world. Better than the rest of the brats here, that’s for sure.”

“Ronan,” Dr. Parrish admonished and he turned to Garrett with a soft smile. “I’m sure the other children are great as well, right?”

Garett hesitated, remembering with vivid clarity when Zayden threw an entire clump of woodchips at Brynlee at the park, all of them getting caught in her wild black hair; it had taken almost an hour to get out all the woodchips. Mr. Lynch took his hesitance as a no and burst into laughter.

“Whadda I tell you, Parrish? Opal’s the best, aren’t you, sweetheart?” He leaned forward and placed a sloppy kiss on the little girl’s cheek. She shrieked in delight.

“Kerah!!”

Dr. Parrish laughed for the first time and Garrett relaxed a bit. The doctor had a wonderful laugh — real, earnest, and bright. A smile tugged at his lips and Dr. Parrish turned back to him.

“Opal is a wonderful girl, Garrett,” he said. “We are very glad you like her. Thank you for staying with her after this happened.” Garrett’s smile fell off his face and he nodded solemnly.

“Of course. Anything for the kids.”

“Sounds like Parrish too,” Mr. Lynch said with a nod. “It’s why he spent so many goddamn years in school.”

Garrett turned to Adam.

“You’re a doctor, right?”

“Yes, I’m a pediatric pulmonologist.” When Garrett just blinked uncomprehendingly, Adam blushed and Ronan snorted.

“That’s just fancy language for a kid’s lung doctor,” he said, rolling his eyes at Adam. “Make it easier, dumbass.”

Adam scratched behind his ear awkwardly.

“Sorry,” he said. 

“That’s all right,” Garrett said. “If I went to school for nine years I’d want to use my fancy title too.”

Ronan laughed.

“You’re funny!” he said. “I like you.” He looked down at his daughter, who was chewing on her toy again. “Do you like Garrett, kid?”

Opal nodded, smiling toothily around the wing in her mouth.

“Yeah!” she said. “He’s fun and nice! He’s like Daddy.”

Adam smirked.

“Not like Kerah?”

“No,” Opal said, making a face and shaking her head. “Kerah isn’t like that. He’s different.”

Adam laughed and Ronan looked slightly offended. He bounced Opal on his knee and lightly flicked her ear.

“Hey, brat, what’s that mean?!”

“Kerah is ex-exciting,” Opal said, stammering over the word. “He does exciting things. Daddy is _mitis._ G-gentle, peaceful. Like Mr. Garrett.”

Ronan — ex-street racer and ride-or-die dreamer — seemed satisfied with this answer, while both Adam and Garrett had the decency to look embarrassed. 

“What about a farmer is exciting?” a voice behind them said, and everyone at the table turned to see a broad woman standing next to them, a smirk on her face, her arms crossed over her chest.

“Brenda!” Garrett cried, jumping to his feet. “This is Mr. Ly—”

He was cut off by Ronan.

“What about a summer camp director is exciting, Brenda?” he snorted, getting to his feet. He swung Opal onto his hip in one swift, easy motion, and she clung to him tightly. Ronan smirked at the camp director, a reflection of Brenda’s. “At least I get to see some cool stuff on _my_ farm.”

“Animals are boring,” Brenda said. “Kids are better.”

Ronan’s face darkened and his eyes flicked to Opal’s wrists.

“Are they?”

Brenda’s expression fell and a look Garrett had never seen before settled on her face. She was sad, upset, and worried all at once. It was an unusual look for their usually fierce camp director.

“Opal, honey, I’m sorry,” she said after a moment and her voice was soft when she spoke. “Can I see your wrists?”

Opal nodded and held them out willingly. As Brenda examined the bruises and cuts with wary, careful eyes, the little girl spoke. 

“Ms. Brenda, where’s Ollie?”

Brenda laughed.

“You miss him, huh?”

Opal nodded solemnly, as if this was an obvious fact.

“Ollie is fun,” she said. “He makes me laugh.”

“Well, I’m glad to hear that,” Brenda said, releasing Opal’s wrists with a small smile. She answered the girl’s question. “Ollie is home with his other mommy, Fiona. Do you remember Ms. Fiona?”

“ _Ita vero_!” Her face lit up. “She is _soooooo_ pretty! I wanna have long hair like Ms. Fiona, but Daddy says it would be too hard to take care of.” She turned to Dr. Parrish with a pout and stuck out her tongue. Everyone laughed.

“Well, your daddy is wrong,” Brenda said, tapping Opal’s nose lightly with the tip of her finger. Opal giggled. “He just won’t do it cause he doesn’t want to do more work.” 

Adam got up from his seat, a faint smile on his face.

“Actually, Ronan does her hair everyday. He chooses her outfits too.”

Brenda raised a surprised eyebrow.

“Well, color me surprised! I never would have guessed that. I thought if Kerah dressed you, you would be wearing black all the time.”

“ _Noctis!_ ” Opal giggled in delight. “Kerah loves black!”

Ronan was blushing bright red, but he scowled.

“I wear other colors too,” he objected.

Opal laughed.

“ _Noctis!_ ”

“Be quiet, brat,” Ronan said, hefting the little girl higher in his arms. Opal’s giggles fell silent when the bruises and cuts on her wrist rubbed against the leather of Ronan’s jacket, one of the cuts scraping across its bright silver buttons. She cried out and grabbed her left wrist when it began to bleed again. Garrett’s heart beat faster and he instinctively took a step closer when Opal’s features twisted up and she began to wail. 

Before Garrett could so much as move, Dr. Parrish had shoved past him and had grabbed Opal’s wrists in his hands. He took one look and held fast to his daughter, even when she tried to pull away, and turned to Brenda. 

“Do you have a first aid kit?” he said. “These should be cleaned.”

“I already cleaned—” Garrett began, but the look Mr. Lynch threw him shut him up.

“Yeah,” Brenda said when Garrett fell silent. “It’s in the office. Follow me. We need to talk in there anyway about what happened.” 

Ronan and Adam nodded, and Adam took Opal, who was still sobbing, from his husband’s arms, holding her close to his chest. Garrett hung back as they headed towards the office, oblivious to the stares of the other people in the recreation center, until Brenda called for him.

“Garrett! What are you doing? Get in here!” 

Garrett blinked in surprise — he had no idea he was expected to be a part of this meeting — but then nodded and ran down the hall, heedless to the rules that proclaimed there should be no running in the administrative hallways.

When he stepped into the office, closing the door behind him, he saw Dr. Parrish on his knees in front of his daughter and husband, holding onto one of her wrists while Mr. Lynch held her tight in his lap. Adam murmured some things about it being okay, that she was safe, that he was almost done, that he was sorry if it stung, while Ronan kissed his daughter’s head and whispered that it was all right, that Daddy was helping, that it wouldn’t hurt soon, that he loved her.

Garrett swallowed the lump in his throat — it was always hard seeing the kids he took care of hurt, and it was even harder seeing one of his favorites sobbing in pain — and turned away. He walked over to Brenda’s desk, where she was sitting, chewing her nails and watching the proceedings nervously.

“Garrett,” she said, finally tearing her eyes away from the little family in the corner. “Thank you for taking care of Opal while waiting for her parents. They’re very concerned about her.” 

Garrett nodded.

“Do you know them?” he asked after a moment, remembering how easily Mr. Lynch had interacted with his boss and how Opal had asked after her son; Brenda was usually very quiet about her personal life.

“Yes, I’ve known them for a few years,” Brenda answered. “Opal is the same age as my son. We all met at a LGBT daycare program when they were babies.”

Garrett nodded, suddenly understanding.

“Ah, I see.” He paused before speaking. “How mad do you think they’ll be?”

Brenda let out a breathy sigh. 

“Fucking mad,” she said, and Garrett stared at her in surprise. He’d never heard his boss swear before, and he honestly didn’t think she did. But now seeing the look in her eyes and how she was chewing her lip, it was obvious the situation warranted swearing. “I just hope they don’t sue us.”

“You’d be so fucking lucky if we didn’t sue,” Ronan said suddenly and both Garrett and Brenda turned to face him. He was standing near the desk, looming over both of them, while Adam hung back, Opal sniffling against his chest. “We didn’t bring our kid here to get hurt, Brenda.”

“Ronan, please—”

“You can call me Mr. Lynch here,” Ronan said icily. Brenda stiffened and then sighed.

“All right. Mr. Lynch, Dr. Parrish, please take a seat. You can leave Opal with Garrett if you don’t want—”

“No,” Adam cut off. “She’s scared and hurting. She’s staying with us.”

“Very well.” Brenda turned to Garrett. “Garrett, why don’t you tell them what happened?”

Garrett looked at both men, wearing expressions of fury and sadness, before settling his gaze on Opal, who had settled against Dr. Parrish’s chest in as small of a ball as she could make herself, injured wrists tucked protectively under her body. His heart broke a bit and then he told them everything. When he was done, Brenda asked Opal if it was true and the little girl just bobbed her head, not saying a word.

Brenda sighed and scribbled something down.

“What are you going to do about this?” Ronan demanded. “Are you going to fire this Haley girl?” 

“Of course. Consider it already done. I’m also adding this to her permanent record.”

“Are you gonna call the cops?”

“Ronan,” Adam interrupted softly. 

“What?”

“It was an accident,” he said. He ran his hand down Opal’s back. “She didn’t mean to hurt Opal. We don’t need to call the cops.” 

Ronan snorted.

“She hurt a kid,” he said, crossing his arms across his chest.

“She’s a kid too,” Adam said, and Garrett looked at the man in surprise. His expression was unreadable, but his eyes were soft, oddly kind and understanding. “Please, Ronan.”

Ronan’s rough facade seemed to shatter.

“Adam.” 

“Opal is okay,” Adam said, and he pulled his small daughter a little closer to him, placing a soft kiss on the crown of her head. “That’s all that matters.” 

“Adam.”

“Please, Lynch.”

And that was it. Ronan deflated and fell back into his chair with a sigh.

“You said she’s fired, right?” he said to Brenda.

The camp director nodded.

“And it’s going on her permanent record. She won’t get away with it.”

“Good.” Ronan got to his feet, then proceeded to help Adam up; the doctor kept Opal perfectly balanced in his arms. “Can we go now? Pretty sure Opal needs a nap.”

“So do I,” Adam chuckled mirthlessly.

Brenda nodded and waved them away. As they headed out the door, she spoke.

“Thank you, Dr. Parrish.” 

Adam froze, back to them, and Garrett saw him stiffen.

“For what?” he asked, voice tight.

“For letting this go.” 

“Who said I was letting it go?” Adam said, and he turned to look at them over his shoulder. Garrett barely kept himself from flinching: the doctor’s blue blue eyes were dark and smoldering, full of quiet fury. When he spoke, his voice was tight. “I won’t forget this.” 

Ronan, who had gone into the hallway, came back and lightly touched Adam’s elbow.

“Parrish,” he whispered. He muttered something else, something that Garrett couldn’t catch, and then took Opal from Adam’s arms. He didn’t look back as he left the office and headed down the hall, leaving Adam with Brenda and Garrett. 

Brenda took a deep breath before speaking.

“Adam—” she began, but the doctor held up a slender hand, effectively silencing her. Garrett blinked, wondering at his powerful presence. Past the soft golden curls and high cheekbones, which lended him a delicate appearance, Dr. Parrish possessed a certain authority that took up the whole room.

“I want to talk to this Haley girl,” he said. 

Brenda immediately stiffened and shook her head.

“I don’t think that’s a good idea,” she said. “Haley is—”

“She hurt my daughter,” Adam interrupted. “I have a right to speak with her.”

Brenda paused, then sighed loudly.

“Fine,” she relented. “But I have to be there. It’s policy.”

“Of course,” Adam said with a dip of his head. He turned to Garrett and smiled softly. “It was nice to meet you, Garrett,” he said. “Could I talk to you in the hallway?” 

Garrett stiffened, somewhat alarmed, but Dr. Parrish quickly shook his head and smiled reassuringly.

“It’s nothing bad!” he said. “I’m very grateful to you. I just want to ask you something.”

“Oh, uh, sure,” Garrett said. “Yeah, I can talk to you.” He walked quickly out of the office, glad to be free of the stuffy room, and walked a short distance down the hall before stopping, turning and waiting for the doctor to come up to him. Dr. Parrish stayed in Brenda’s office for a minute or so longer, discussing something with her, before coming out and closing the door behind him. He caught Garrett’s eye and smiled.

“Sorry for making you wait,” he said, putting his hands in his white lab coat pockets.

“No, it’s okay,” Garrett said. He awkwardly cleared his throat. “What did you want to talk about?”

“Ronan and I are very grateful to you for taking care of Opal while she was hurt and scared,” Adam said. “It’s very important to us that she always feels safe and cared for.”

“Oh, um,” Garret stammered, blushing. “Well, I was just doing my job.”

“Yes, but you did it very well.” Adam paused before continuing. “Look, Garrett, we were hoping to get a babysitter part time during the schoolyear. I was going to offer the job to you.” Garrett blinked but before he could speak, Adam continued. “I know it’s not conventional to work with your camp students after camp is over, but we’ve asked Brenda and gotten her permission. But if you’re not comfortable, I completely understand.”

Garrett hesitated. This was a golden opportunity to make extra money during the school year, to save some of it for college — a daunting experience that was rapidly approaching. And he _was_ very fond of Opal. However, he was also hesitant to continue working with a child outisde of a camp enviornment — that was a line he had never crossed before. Opal also had communication issues and Garrett could have difficulty understanding her; he worried what would happen if she tried to tell him something important and he didn’t understand her and then she got hurt or worse.

Garrett licked his lips and looked back up at Adam, who was looking evenly at him, waiting for an answer.

“Well, Dr. Parrish, I. . .” he began. “I don’t know, really. Can I have some time to think about it?”

“Of course!” Adam said. He pulled a little yellow business card and a pen from his pocket and hastily wrote two numbers on it before handing it to Garrett. “This has my work number and work cell on the front, and my personal cell and Ronan’s on the back,” he said. “If you need anything or decide sometime today, give us a call.” He smiled easily, and, much to his surprise, Garrett’s heart beat a little faster in his chest.

“Oh, um, okay. Thanks, Dr. Parrish.”

“No problem. Thank you again for what you did today.” Adam laid a hand on Garrett’s shoulder. “It really means a lot.”

Garrett felt his heart beating in his ears and he was bright red, which was terribly embarrassing, but he managed a nod and a stammered “It was no trouble at all” before Dr. Parrish left. Garrett watched him leave, heart still beating far too fast and face bright red. He jumped when he felt another hand on his shoulder. It was his boss. She took one look at Garrett and laughed.

“Ah,” Brenda said, a knowing smirk on her face. “Got a crush on Dr. Parrish, do you, Garrett?”

Garrett spluttered. Is that what this was? It explained a lot. It was the same way he felt about Amelia from home room and Benjamin from math class. . .

“Oh,” was all he said.

Brenda laughed and squeezed Garrett’s shoulder.

“Oh, is right!” she chortled. “You aren’t the first young man felled by Adam Parrish! He’s quite handsome. How old are you again, Garrett?”

“Eighteen.”

“Hmm, yes. That’s how old I was when I had my first girlfriend.” She smiled fondly, eyes full of memories. “She was wonderful.”

Garrett thought about Benjamin, with his bright laugh and pretty milk chocolate eyes, and his heart beat a little faster again.

“There’s a boy I like. . .” he began, but Brenda cut him off. 

“Ah, ah, ah,” she said, “I’m afraid I can’t help you there. I’m married to a woman.” She pointed at the business card in Garrett’s hand. “But maybe the Parrish-Lynches can help you. Especially Ronan. He knows all about pining,” she said cryptically. She turned on her heel, heading back to her office. “I’d take that job, if I were you,” she called over her shoulder. “Ronan Lynch is rich as fuck and Adam Parrish is a doctor. Wait till you see their house.” She winked and disappeared again into her office.

Garrett called Ronan and Adam that night, telling them he would gladly take the job. He heard Opal’s voice in the background, excited and shrill, yelling something about pancakes and water slides, and he smiled.

He had a feeling he’d like this job.

****************************************


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Auntie Blue and Uncle Gansey make an appearance and Garrett learns a little more about Opal.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi everybody! Thanks for all the love this story is getting - it makes me really happy to know that it makes you happy. 
> 
> But concerning a note I made last chapter about me being unable to write heterosexuals - someone left some pretty harsh comments so I just wanted to let you all know that I was just joking and wasn't trying to be mean or anything. I'm just here to write some happy Parrish-Lynch family and I'm not looking for drama. Thanks. 
> 
> Anyway, enjoy!

********************************************

The next day, Garrett was busily setting up sign-in sheets for the parents and games for the kids, when a small, warm being barrelled right into him. He yelped, startled, and nearly fell over.

“Hey, brat!” someone yelled from the door. “What did I tell you about tackling people?”

Garrett blinked and was surprised, to say the least, to see Opal at his side, her arms wrapped tight around his waist, her head nuzzled against his hipbone.

“Opal. . .?” he said.

Opal looked up at him and grinned toothily.

“Hiya, Mr. Garrett!!” 

Garrett blinked a few more times, honestly uncomprehending that the little girl was actually at camp. Given the events of yesterday, he was fully expecting Dr. Parrish and Mr. Lynch to keep her at home for the rest of the week. But, judging by her big smile and bright eyes, Opal seemed happy to be here. 

“Hi, Opal,” Garrett said, patting the top of her head. She was wearing a beanie that covered her hair, patterned it the shape of an owl. “I like your hat.” 

“Thanks!! Auntie Blue made it for me!”

Garrett had no idea who that was, but he nodded wisely, pretending he did.

“Well, she did a very good job.”

Opal, still smiling, released Garrett and ran to the front of the classroom, where Ronan Lynch was leaning against the doorframe, arms crossed lazily over his chest. 

“Kerah, did you hear that??” Opal cried, jumping up on her father. “Mr. Garrett said that Auntie Blue did a good job with my _petasum_!” 

“Hat, kiddo,” Ronan said, grabbing the beanie and pulling it over his daughter’s eyes. Opal cried out in mock outrage, shoving it back over her head, and Ronan laughed. “Yeah, I guess your aunt is getting better at making shi — I mean, stuff.”

Opal nodded sagely.

“She said she’d teach me.”

Ronan raised an eyebrow.

“Teach you what?”

“How to kn-knit,” Opal stammered. “Right? Is that the right word, Kerah?”

“Sure is, sweetie.” He looked up and smiled at Garrett. “Is there any knitting at this camp?”

Garrett laughed.

“I’m afraid not,” he said. “Just the usual camp stuff — swimming, obstacle courses, and panning for gold. Stuff like that.” He looked down at Opal. “Do you like doing those things?”

“Mhmm,” Opal hummed, and then she frowned, faint-colored eyebrows drawing over charming honey-brown eyes. “Except swimming. I don’t like that one as much. I have to stay in the shallow end.”

“That’s cause Daddy hasn’t taught you how to swim yet,” Ronan said. “Don’t worry, you’ll be able to swim soon.” He looked at Garrett. “What are they doing today?” 

“Um,” Garrett hesitated, looking at the schedule, “ah, they’re going swimming.”

Ronan’s face fell.

“She can’t go swimming today,” he said. 

“Aww, why not?” Opal whined.

“You know why, brat. Besides, you just said you don't like swimming. Show Mr. Garrett your wrists.”

Opal nodded eagerly and shoved up the sleeves of her yellow sundress. Garrett’s stomach twisted and he felt his heart sink. Around Opal’s small, delicate wrists were wrapped gauzy bandages, underneath clean white bandages sat where the cuts were. Garrett looked sadly up at Mr. Lynch, who seemed angry, biting his lip and curling his hands into slightly trembling fists.

“Daddy did it!” Opal said proudly, holding her arms higher so that Garrett could see. “Aren’t they pretty?”

“They are,” Garrett managed. “He did a good job.” 

“Daddy is the best doctor in the _whoooollleee_ wide world!” Opal cried, dropping her arms and bouncing on her heels. She turned to her other father with a wide smile. “Right, Kerah?”

Ronan smiled at his daughter and pulled the sleeves back over her wrists.

“That’s right, Daddy is the best,” he said. He put his hand on his daughter’s back and lightly shoved her forward. “Why don’t you go play for a bit? I need to talk to Mr. Garrett alone for a few minutes.”

“Okay!”

Opal rushed away, grabbed her stuffed raven from her backpack, and then settled herself at the table with the toy, bouncing it around like a real bird. Mr. Lynch and Garrett watched her for a moment before Ronan sighed. 

“Look,” he said, “I was against bringing Opal back today but she really wanted to and Adam thought it would be fine.” Garrett nodded. “She can’t go swimming because of the bandages,” his expression darkened, “so I was hoping you could stay with her in the shade. She brought some books and stuffed animals so she should be able to keep herself occupied.”

Garrett nodded.

“I can do that,” he said. “Some of the other kids don’t like swimming so one of us is always out of the water anyway. It’s not an inconvience.”

Mr. Lynch looked somewhat relieved, then glanced over at his daughter.

“Also, her aunt and uncle are picking her up today cause Adam and I have a meeting with Brenda and the girl who hurt Opal.” His expression twisted into something resembling grief before disappearing. “They’re on her list of people allowed to pick her up, but I wanted to give you a heads-up.”

“Thank you,” Garrett said. “Can I ask what their names are so I can write them down?”

“Gansey and Blue.”

“The Blue that made the hat?” Garrett said, scratching down a note next to Opal’s name on the sign-in sheet.

Mr. Lynch chuckled.

“Yep.” He looked over at Garrett. “If anything happens, or if Opal needs something before her aunt and uncle come get her, please call us. I’m not gonna be on the farm today and Adam is working a short shift at the hospital.”

“I’ll call you if anything comes up,” Garrett said. _Although I really hope it doesn’t,_ he added silently.

Ronan nodded at Garrett and smiled faintly at him before straightening up and calling out to his daughter. 

“Opal, I’m leaving now,” he said. “Remember that Uncle Gansey and Auntie Blue are coming to get you today.” Opal didn’t turn around, simply nodding. Mr. Lynch sighed. “Need anything, brat?” 

“No, Kerah.” This time she did turn around and flapped her arms at him, grinning so widely that her eyes crinkled shut. “I love you!”

Ronan waved his hands at her in return, an equally wide grin on his face.

“I love you too, kid. Have a good day.” 

“Bye, Kerah!!”

With a nod at Garrett, Mr. Lynch headed out. 

*********************************

Gansey ran his thumb over his bottom lip, frowning deeply as Adam handed him a list of Opal’s medications and some new salves that Ronan had dreamt up for cuts and bruises.

“Put this on her wrists every two hours and then cover them up with the gauze,” Adam said. He rubbed his eyes tiredly. “She should be fine with it, since it doesn’t sting or anything, but if she’s being annoying about it, give me or Ronan a call and we’ll talk to her.”

Blue took the salve, packaged carefully in a light green porcelain jar, with a frown, and exchanged a look with Gansey.

“What happened to her wrists?” she asked. “Why do we need to put this on?” 

Adam sighed and leaned back in his chair, and Blue did not fail to notice the circles under his eyes, a testament that he didn’t sleep well the night before. She crossed her arms over her chest.

“Have you been sleeping, Adam?” she demanded.

“Not much last night,” Adam said and Blue blinked at his suprising honesty; he was usually far more reluctant to share information. “I was taking care of Opal.”

“What happened?” Gansey asked.

“She got hurt,” Adam replied simply. Before either Gansey or Blue could ask more questions, Adam continued speaking. “You know how frail she is — it’s important to take care of her health since she’s so prone to infection.”

Blue nodded sadly, remembering a time when little Opal spent a lot of time in her toddler-sized bed, Ronan and Adam always by her side, both of them stressed and always pinched with worry. Luckily, Opal wasn’t as sick these days but her delicate disposition lent her a tendency to get sick easier than most children, not to mention her heart condition. . . 

Opal was born a premature baby, abandoned swiftly by her mother and father when it was clear her health conditions would be lifelong and potentially problematic, and Ronan and Adam, who had been waiting for a baby for some time, were contacted about her. The adoption agency said they’d understand if they didn’t want to take Opal, given how sick she was, but Adam and Ronan had agreed to it before they even saw her. When they saw her in the incubator for the first time, attached to all those tubes and monitors and a ventilator, they loved her immediately. It was a family made in heaven, really.

But her health issues caused a certain number of problems for the little family, namely the number of surgeries Opal had and her fragile health. Ronan and Adam were constantly worried about her and they doted on her — they all did, really — but it could be hard. Like today.

Blue pinched the bridge of her nose.

“Why did you let her go to camp if you’re so worried about her health?” she asked.

Adam bristled. 

“She wanted to go,” he said, “and I’m not gonna keep her locked up in her like some animal, Blue!”

“Gosh, relax, Adam!” Blue said, holding out her hands. “I’m just worried, is all. No need to get all defensive.”

Adam opened his mouth to speak, but Gansey cut him off.

“What time do you want us to pick her up?” he asked. Adam threw him a look, but Gansey only sighed. “Come on, Adam. Work with me here.”

“Three,” Adam said. “You can pick her up at three.” He looked up at Blue. “Sorry for snapping,” he said.

Blue smiled faintly. 

“It’s all right,” she said. “I know you’re worried.” She reached out and patted his shoulder. “Honestly, Adam, you look like a hot mess. Why don’t you take a nap or something before you go to work?”

Adam laughed, the sound gravelly and tired, and rubbed his eyes again.

“Yeah, all right,” he said. “Wake me up before nine though.”

“You’ve got it,” Blue said, smiling as he climbed up the stairs of their house to crash in bed for a bit. When he was gone, Blue turned swiftly to Gansey. “What do you think happened to Opal?” she asked. 

“I don’t know,” he said with a shrug. “Ronan didn’t tell me either.” 

Blue groaned.

“These boys, I swear.” She clapped her hand on her fist and Gansey looked at her, not much liking the determined spark in her brown eyes — the one that meant trouble.

“Blue—”

“If Adam and Ronan won’t spill the beans, we’ll just have to ask the counselor,” she said, tipping her chin upwards and daring Gansey to fight her. Gansey somehow mustered some courage and opened his mouth to speak, but Blue cut him off. “Come on, Dick,” she said, “Uncle Gansey and Auntie Blue deserve to know what happened, don’t they?”

Gansey scratched his ear nervously.

“Maybe. . . but I don’t know if asking the counselor is the best idea.”

Blue sighed dramatically.

“Leave it to me, Dick,” she said. She got on her tiptoes and kissed his cheek. “You need to unwind a bit.”

Gansey nodded and smiled weakly at her, but he couldn’t help the nervous flutter in his chest.

*************************************************************

“And this is Chainsaw!” Opal said, shoving the stuffed raven in Garrett’s face. The camp counselor blinked and then leaned back, taking in the little girl, who was grinning proudly, and the ratty, old toy in her small hands. 

He was sitting in the grass next to the pool with Opal, Davie, and Sam, the three kids who couldn’t — or didn’t want to — go swimming today. Davie and Sam were grabbing clumps of grass in their hands and laying them across their chests, but Garrett couldn’t really be bothered to care. He didn’t get paid enough to deal with their nonsense. As long they weren’t hurting each other or themselves, then it was fine, really. 

“Mr. Garrett, pay attention!” Opal cried, reaching out and tugging on Garrett’s coarse black hair. Garrett yelped.

“Ouch!” He frowned and shook his head at Opal. “That’s not nice, Opal. You shouldn’t do that.” Opal stuck out her bottom lip, big eyes full of regret, and Garrett sighed. “What do you say?” 

“I’m sorry, Mr. Garrett!” she said. “I didn’t mean to!”

“I know,” Garrett said. “It’s okay. You need to be gentle though, okay?” 

“Okay.” 

“Why don’t you tell me more about. . . Chainsaw?”

Opal’s face lit up.

“Okay!” she cried. “I named her Chainsaw because Kerah likes the sound and Kerah likes ravens. Chainsaws are loud and go _GrrrrrrRRRRRrrrrr!!!!_ ”

Garrett laughed.

“Do they?”

“Yeah!”

“What about your other toys?” he asked, motioning to the few other stuffed animals surrounding Opal’s backpack in the grass. There was a mouse, a cat, and an octopus.

“This is Stuart!” Opal said, shoving the mouse at Garrett. “Like Staurt Little!”

Garrett laughed again.

“That’s an old story,” he said. “I read that when I was your age too.”

Opal nodded.

“So did Kerah and Daddy. Daddy said he kept a secret copy under his bed.”

Garrett frowned. _Secret copy. . .? It wasn’t like Stuart Little had anything worth hiding in it, so why did Dr. Parrish hide copies of it under his bed when he was a kid?_

Before he could dwell on it much longer, Opal held out the cat.

“This is Gwen! I named her after this weird lady that Auntie Blue told me about.” 

“A weird lady?”

“Yeah!” Opal said, bobbing her head up and down. “She liked singing and yelling and breaking stuff and her mom was a _tree._ ” She said this last part in a conspirital whisper and Garrett just blinked and then nodded at her, as if he knew what the heck she was talking about.

“And who’s this?” he asked, pointing to the stuffed pink octopus.

“Shelby!” Opal said, holding the toy close. “I named her after my absolute favorite nurse in the hospital where I go. She’s pretty and wears pink scrubs a lot. And she gave me this toy!”

“That was nice of her,” Garrett said with a smile. “Do you go to the hospital a lot?”

“Yeah, I have a funny heart,” Opal said. “Daddy and Kerah adopted me because my Mommy and other Daddy left me when they found out.”

Garrett felt his heart break.

“Oh,” was all he said. 

Opal didn’t look up, only gathering all her stuffed animals into her lap.

“Daddy is a doctor and he says my heart is getting better which is really good!”

“Yeah, it is.”

Opal grinned at Garrett.

“But I’ve had lots and lots of surgeries so I go to the hospital a lot.” She fidgeted with the leg of the octopus. “I have a biiiiiig scar on the middle of my chest cause that’s where they cut me and fix my heart!”

Garrett paled, remembering suddenly how he’d heard some of the female counselors whisper about a scar on Opal’s chest, how the other children pointed at her in her swimsuit and asked her what it was. His heart tripped over itself. She must have a nightmare of a childhood — spending so much time in the hospital, poked and prodded, exhausted and medicated all the time.

But still she smiled and laughed so much.

Garrett, overwhelmed with a sudden swell of emotion, laid a hand on top of Opal’s head and swallowed back the lump in his throat. 

“You’re really brave, you know that, Opal?”

Opal blinked at Garrett for a few seconds before smiling.

“Daddy and Kerah say the same thing,” she said. “So do Uncle Gansey and Auntie Blue and Uncle Noah and Uncle Henry and Uncle Declan and Uncle Matthew.” She paused. “But I don’t think so.”

Garrett frowned.

“What do you mean?”

“I just do what I have to,” Opal said, taking Chainsaw and putting a wing of the toy in her mouth. “Some of the kids in the hospital are sicker than me.”

Garrett’s heart softened even more for this frail, adorable little girl in front of him.

“That doesn’t mean you’re not brave, Opal,” he said. “You can be brave and so can the sicker kids. You all can be brave.”

Opal’s lips parted in a silent “o.”

“We can?”

“Of course you can,” Garrett said. “You’re all very brave. And it sounds like you’ve been very brave since the day you were born.”

Opal made a face.

“I don’t remember that!” she said. “How could I be brave when I don’t remember?”

Garrett laughed and then nearby, someone called Opal’s name.

“Opal! Honey-bunches!!” 

Opal whipped around so fast that Garrett thought she’d get whiplash. Her face lit up when she saw who had called for her.

“Auntie Blue!” she all but shrieked, and she scrambled to her feet, dumping her stuffed animals on the grass. She ran forward, arms outstretched, and the woman — Auntie Blue — knelt and held out her arms. She let out a stifled “oomf!” when Opal barrelled into her, but then she picked her up and swung her around, Opal shrieking happily. 

Garrett got to his feet and watched them with a smile. The people who had come to pick up Opal probably had no relation to Dr. Parrish and Mr. Lynch, but were probably their friends, as they were close in age to Opal’s parents. The woman was relatively short (if Garrett had to guess, he’d say she was probably barely over five feet) with wild black hair attempting to be held back with a multitude of colorful bobby pins and clips. She was wearing a purple dress purposely disheveled and destroyed — it looked like she’d taken a knife to it — and army green combat boots.

Opal squealed happily and held on tight to the woman’s hair as she spun her around. When they finally came to a stop, she planted a kiss on Opal’s cheek.

“Hi there, honey!” she said. “How are you?”

“Good!” Opal smiled and tugged lightly on her aunt’s earrings — root beer caps. “I like your earrings, Auntie Blue.”

The woman beamed.

“Thank you, Opal!” she said. “Why don’t you tell that to Uncle Gansey?”

Opal looked up at the other man, a frown on her face.

“Do you not like Auntie’s earrings, Uncle Gansey?” she asked. She flicked them gently with her small fingers. “They’re pretty. You should tell her so.”

The man next to Auntie Blue, wearing a bright yellow polo shirt and tan khaki shorts, was quite something to behold. Where it only took Garrett one look to know that the woman was unique and quirky, it barely took him a blink before he saw money rolling off the man in waves.

His shirt was perfectly pressed, his shorts somehow still had the crease down the middle of the legs, and the loafers he was wearing we nothing if not expensive. Garrett didn’t know much about shoes, but those were _definitely_ leather and _definitely_ new. And he was wearing them to a _community pool._

There were whispers all around them suddenly, but Opal’s aunt and uncle seemed oblivious, the man reaching forward and taking Opal from the woman’s arms. He smiled at her, teeth perfectly white and straight, eyes bright under his thick glasses, and Opal grinned back.

“Hi, sweetpea,” he greeted and he leaned forward, pressing his forehead against hers. Opal giggled in delight, wrapping her hands in her uncle’s perfectly coiffed brown hair and messing it up. The woman snorted.

“Hey, Uncle Gansey, tell Auntie her earrings are nice,” Opal demanded, pulling away from her uncle, although she still held on tightly to his shirt. “Kerah says that husbands should always tell their wives that they’re pretty.” 

Blue choked and the man spluttered in surprise.

“Ronan said that?” he demanded. “ _Ronan?”_

Opal just stared at him as if he was an idiot. Blue started laughing.

“Well, duh,” the little girl said. “Who else is Kerah? And he’s really smart. Not as smart as Daddy, but smart too!”

Blue snorted again and bent over in two, clutching her sides as she began to laugh in earnest hysterics.

“Oh my god!” she gasped. “Oh my god, this is the funniest thing that’s ever happened to me!” She turned and pulled an old, battered phone out of her purse — tattered to match her dress. “Opal, hun, say that again to the camera! I need video evidence!” 

Gansey turned red as a tomato and swiftly moved Opal to his hip with expert precision, hiding her away from the camera. A look of outrage settled on Blue’s face.

“Gansey!” she cried.

“No,” he said, shaking his head furiously, glasses sliding down his nose. “No way.”

“Aww, boo, what a killjoy,” Blue said, sticking out her tongue at the man. A look of slight distress crossed Gansey’s face and Blue laughed.

Garrett took this opportunity to walk up to the couple and Opal.

“Hi,” he said, holding out his hand, “I’m Garrett, one of the camp counselors here. I suppose you’re Opal’s aunt and uncle?”

The woman took his outstretched hand and shook it eagerly, smiling at him.

“Yep! I’m Blue Sargent and this is my husband Richard Gansey. You can call him Dick though.” 

Garrett’s gaze flicked nervously to Opal’s uncle.

“Oh, um. . .”

“Blue,” Gansey sighed and he stepped forward, laid Opal on her feet, and held out a graceful hand for Garrett to shake. “You can call me Gansey.”

“All right.” Garrett smiled. “It’s nice to meet you both.”

“You too,” Blue said.

“Did you know we were coming?” Gansey asked somewhat anxiously, following Garrett over to the grass next to the pool, where he had laid the camp binder and sign out sheet.

“Yes, Mr. Lynch told me,” Garrett replied with a nod.

Blue snorted. 

“Mr. Lynch,” she said. “Sounds so fancy.”

Garrett handed Blue the sign-out sheet and a pen and pointed to Opal’s name, located towards the bottom of the list.

“If you wouldn’t mind signing her out,” he said.

“Auntie Blue!!!” Opal shrieked nearby, and both adults (plus one teenager) turned to see one of the other campers holding Opal’s owl beanie high away from her, dangling it far above her reach. She turned to her aunt and cried out again, tears gathering in her big eyes. “Auntie Blue, make them give it back!!”

“Here, I’ll sign her out,” Gansey said to his wife, taking the sheet and pen from her, “you go deal with that.”

Blue nodded and stomped furiously over to where Opal and a few other children were standing. Garrett watched in mild awe as the short woman unleashed a dispropropainate amount of fury out on the children picking on her niece, and he didn’t notice that Gansey was handing him the sign-out sheet until he had called his name.

“Oh, sorry!” Garrett said, hastily grabbing the sheet from the man’s tan hands. “I was just. . .”

Gansey laughed.

“Don’t worry, I get it.” He raised his voice and waved Opal and Blue back over. “Opal, sweetpea, come pick up your things so we can go.”

Opal, hat again in hand, ran as quickly to her uncle as her little legs could carry her and stuffed her toys in her backpack. She swung it onto her shoulder and then held out her arms to Gansey. With a dramatic sigh but a smile, her uncle picked her up and straddled her on his hip.

“Say goodbye to Mr. Garrett, Opal,” Blue said, smiling at the camp counselor and dipping her head at him in thanks. She paused for a moment, eyes hesitating on Opal’s wrists, and Garrett felt his heart trip in his chest. She wasn’t going to ask about that was she. . .?

But Blue just sighed, shook her head at herself, and turned away.

Opal, however, grinned at Garrett over Gansey’s shoulder.

“Bye, Mr. Garrett!” she called, waving her hands excitedly. “See you later!!”

As they left, an odd hodgepodge of an extended family, Garrett heard Gansey say something to Blue and then Opal cheer.

“Yay!!” she yelled, loud enough to be heard over the cacaphony of the pool. “Her earrings _are_ pretty, Uncle Gansey!!! I told you so!!”

******************************************************

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Blue decided not to pry about what happened to Opal's wrists since Opal was in such a good mood and she figured it would probably just stress Garrett out. Blue is totally an empath and I love her. 
> 
> Next chapter: Opal spends some time with her Auntie and Uncle.


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay, I lied. I said this chapter would be about Opal, Auntie Blue, and Uncle Gansey but it's actually about Adam and Ronan's meeting with Haley. 
> 
> So. . . Enjoy!

*************************************************

Haley was sitting in Brenda’s office, chewing nervously on previously perfectly manicured nails. The past few days had been a nightmare for her: she’d been fired, called by Brenda to discuss the minute details about what happened, forced to take a drug test, and then called _again_ because Dr. Parrish and Mr. Lynch wanted to talk to her. 

Haley looked nervously around the office, her eyes never resting on anything, heart beating frantically in her ribcage. Why did they want to talk to her? Just to yell at her? Didn’t they know it was an accident?!? Didn’t they know she was sorry? What was she supposed to say to them anyway?

_Oh hey, sorry I hurt your kid at camp. No big deal, right? She was just bleeding and shit._

Haley groaned and rubbed the heels of her hands in her eyes. This was the worst. All she’d done was grab a kid and then she’d lost her job and her permanent record was smeared. Now whenever she’d apply to college, they’d look and all they’d see in big, fat letters was: HURT A CHILD. 

Tears sprang to her eyes. It wasn’t like—! 

The door swung open and Haley jumped out of her chair, hands instantly clamping together nervously and lip trembling.

“Ah, Haley, you’re here,” Brenda said, and she stepped into the room, followed by two men that Haley could recognize from a mile away. “Dr. Parrish, Mr. Lynch, this is Haley.”

“Hello,” Dr. Parrish greeted in his soft, familiar lilt, but Mr. Lynch just snorted at her. Haley flinched.

“Ronan,” Dr. Parrish admonished gently. “Have some manners.”

“What for?” Ronan demanded, throwing himself in a chair opposite Brenda and Haley. “She hurt my kid. I can be as rude as I want.” His eyes flicked to his husband. “So can you, Adam.” 

Adam just sighed and seated himself next to Ronan. He squeezed Ronan’s forearm gently, then left his hand there. His eyes, a soft blue, turned to Haley, and she rapidly looked away. 

“Hello, Haley,” he said, and guilt filled Haley’s stomach at the kind tone of his voice. “You remember me, don’t you?” 

Haley just nodded.

“I don’t think you met Ronan, though.” Through the corner of her eye, Haley saw Dr. Parrish smile. “Don’t worry, he won’t hurt you.”

“Like you hurt our daughter,” Ronan growled, and Haley flinched violently.

Adam sighed.

“Haley, look,” he said, “I understand what you did was an accident, but do you know why we came here? Why Brenda fired you?”

Haley’s eyes flicked briefly up to meet Adam’s.

“I know why I got fired,” she said, picking at a loose sleeve on her shirt, “but I don’t know why you want to talk to me.”

“So you don’t do something stupid like this again,” Ronan snapped and Haley jumped, looking up at him. His face was twisted up in grief and rage and the arm under Adam’s hand was shaking with rage. His eyes, bluer somehow than Adam’s, were spitting fire. “You can’t just grab kids, you idiot!”

“Ronan!” Brenda and Adam said at the same time.

“Mr. Lynch, if you can’t control yourself in here, I’ll have to ask you to leave,” Brenda said, and she raised an eyebrow at Ronan in warning. With a huff, Ronan fell back in his chair, grabbing Adam’s hand from his arm and holding it tight; Adam returned the grip.

“Haley,” Adam said, and Haley looked at him. His face was sad too, much like Ronan’s, but the rage wasn’t there. He was just tired and sad and somehow that was so much _worse._ Haley immediately began to cry. 

“I-I’m s-sorry!” she sobbed. “I-I d-d-didn’t mean to!”

Ronan snorted, but Adam nodded.

“I know you didn’t,” he said, “but that’s part of the problem.” Haley looked up at him, swiping some of her tears away.

“Huh?” she said dumbly.

“If it’s your instinct to grab children and shake them when they upset you, then you probably shouldn’t be working with them.” Adam paused and cocked his head to the side. “Does that make sense?” 

“I-I. . . guess. . .” Haley swiped at her cheeks. “But I really want to be a teacher. . .”

“Not after this,” Adam said, voice very firm. He shook his head, golden curls brushing the top of his forehead. “I won’t let you.”

Haley stiffened.

“You. . . You won’t. . .?”

Adam was suddenly no longer the soft, gentle doctor Haley had begun to know over the summer. Now he was a bow drawn tight, a lion with fearsome eyes, a father with something to protect.

He was scarier than Ronan. 

Haley gulped.

“I won’t let you,” Adam repeated, his fingers gripping Ronan’s so tight they turned white. “I won’t let you work with children ever again. You won’t be a teacher or a doctor or a nurse or work at a daycare center or anything having to do with children ever again.”

Haley blinked.

“But—”

“This was the first time you hurt a child,” Adam said, clearing his throat, “but it only escalates from here. I don’t want anything else to happen to another child because you hurt ours.”

Haley looked from Adam to Ronan, who nodded once, sharply, in agreement with his husband.

_Shit._

Haley felt her world crumbling to pieces around her. All she had done was grab a little girl and accidentally give her some cuts and bruises! And now everything she ever wanted to do since she was little was ruined! Just because of one tiny girl and that stupid mountain of dirt. . .

She jumped to her feet, heart racing suddenly in a way that had nothing to do with fear.

“Fine!” she yelled. “I won’t do anything I’ve always wanted to do! All because of your stupid little brat!”

“Haley—!” Brenda cried and Ronan jumped to his feet. His chest heaved.

“The only reason I’m not gonna deck you is because I’m older, bigger, and stronger than you,” he hissed through gritted teeth. “Something you should have thought about before you grabbed my daughter. Because _you’re_ older, bigger, and stronger than _her_.”

He whirled and left the room, slamming the door shut behind him. Adam threw Haley a look, one that was equal parts angry and sad, before rushing out after him.

******************************************************************

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Adam and Ronan are taking no captives and no bullshit.

**Author's Note:**

> Everyone has a crush on Adam Parrish, tbh. 
> 
> Please let me know what you think! Friendly reviews are much welcome and I'm so thirsty for approval.


End file.
